"Malcolm and I are great friends," I said, demurely. "He walks me round
the golf-course in the park, and gives me advice."
"Confounded impertinence!" said Lord Robert.
"He thinks I ought not to go to Claridge's alone when I leave here, in
case some one made love to me. He feels if I looked more like his sisters
it would be safer. I have promised that Véronique shall stay at the other
side of the door if I have visitors."
"Oh, he is afraid of that, is he? Well, I think it is very probable his
fears will be realized, as I shall be in London," said Lord Robert.
"But how do you know," I began, with a questioning, serious air--"how do
you know I should listen? You can't go on to deaf people, can you?"
"Are you deaf?" he asked. "I don't think so; anyway, I would try to cure
your deafness." He bent close over to me, pretending to pick up a book.
Oh, I was having such a nice time!
All of a sudden I felt I was really living, the blood was jumping in my
veins, and a number of provoking, agreeable things came to the tip of my
tongue to say, and I said them. We were so happy.
Lord Robert is such a beautiful shape, that pleased me too; the perfect
lines of things always give me a nice emotion. The other men look thick
and clumsy beside him, and he does have such lovely clothes and ties.
We talked on and on. He began to show me he was deeply interested in me.
His eyes, so blue and expressive, said even more than his words. I like to
see him looking down; his eyelashes are absurdly long and curly, not jet
black like mine and Mr. Carruthers's, but dark brown and soft and shaded,
and, oh! I don't know how to say quite why they are so attractive. When
one sees them half resting on his cheek it makes one feel it would be nice
to put out the tip of one's finger and touch them. I never spent such a
delightful afternoon. Only, alas! it was all too short.
"We will arrange to sit together after dinner," he whispered, as even
before the dressing-gong had rung, Lady Katherine came and fussed about,
and collected every one, and more or less drove them off to dress, saying,
on the way up-stairs, to me, that I need not come down if I had rather
not.
I thanked her again, but remained firm in my intention of accustoming
myself to company.
Stay in my room, indeed, with Lord Robert at dinner--never!
However, when I did come down he was surrounded by Montgomeries, and
pranced into the dining-room with Lady Verningham.
I had such a bore! A young Mackintosh, cousin of Mary's husband, and on
the other side the parson. The one talked about botany in a hoarse
whisper, with a Scotch accent, and the other gobbled his food, and made
kind of pious jokes in between the mouthfuls.
I said, when I had borne it bravely up to the ices, I hated knowing what
flowers were composed of, I only liked to pick them. The youth stared, and
did not speak much more. For the parson, "Yes" now and then did, and like
that we got through dinner.
Malcolm was opposite me, and he gaped most of the time. Even he might have
been better than the botanist, but I suppose Lady Katherine felt these two
would be a kind of half mourning for me. No one could have felt gay with
them.
After dinner Lady Verningham took me over to a sofa with her, in a corner.
The sofas here don't have pillows, as at Branches, but fortunately this
one is a little apart, though not comfortable, and we could talk.
"You poor child!" she said; "you had a dull time. I was watching you. What
did that Mactavish creature find to say to you?"